The idea of the morning was to catch a boat up the Danube to Bratislava, Slovakia. It has become a standard procedure to head for any transportation point an hour ahead of time. Today, it would be needed.
After arriving at the rivers edge, I started to ask from which dock the boat to Bratislava would leave. First the directions were upstream about a half mile, then back down stream the better part of a mile or ten minutes at a full jog. The disappointing thing was that after arriving at dock #12, there was nothing there. The 8:30am departure time came and went. No worries, it must be a day for the train instead. As it turns out there are two forks of the Danube and I was on the wrong one. It still begs the question why uniformed dock officials were sending me to the different places. (Maybe it was just to see the American run… haaa.)
Along the way, there were actual points of interest. This old barge made me wonder how many people it would take to “man” the huge rudder wheel.
Then there was this great church design.
The train ride to Bratislava was a “piece of cake”, meaning 60 kilometers in less than an hour. Stepping off the train, it sunk in that I was in a foreign country with no currency and no language skills, with absolutely no idea where to go.
So I exchange 10Euro into local currency, bought a map, found the castle, and asked a local (in German) how to get there. Fortunately, he spoke enough German to get me on the right bus.
Trying to gain a sense of where the bus was going, by orienting myself on the map, the proper stop slipped right on by. The bad news was that there were no stops for about five kilometers because we had crossed a bridge and were headed for the suburbs. With an entire afternoon to spend in Bratislava, I figured the bus would eventually loop around to head back to the train station, so this was as good a tour bus as any.
Wrong. The bus stopped about fifteen minutes later, where I realized only the bus driver remained. He was calling out to me to get off the bus in the middle of the communist era projects.
The buildings came complete with massive cement cracks.
This bus did not loop. Through sign language and a map it was eventually understood that I needed to walk a few block to catch the same number bus headed in the other direction. Whew.
It was a little bit of a spectacle having a tourist on the bus, so two students sat behind me and we began to chat. They spoke very good English and asked, “Why I was in Bratislava?”
Easy answer, “I am visiting Vienna and wanted to see your capital for the day.”
“No, why are you visiting THIS PART of Bratislava?”
“Oh, I missed my bus stop and got a little lost.”
That is when the history lesson began and I was “all ears”. It ends up that Bratislava is home to the largest Russian made apartment complex in Europe. Of the approximately 400,000 people living in the city, 130,000 call the Petrzalka complex home. George and Michael, continued with a litany of praise for their homeland and city, telling me how Slovakia was the strongest state in the former Soviet Union, with the best people. They insured that I got off at the proper stop, where I headed for the castle and they headed off to the old town. They had both spent a summer in the US under a student VISA program and loved it.
Bratislava is a mixed town of communist era design and old world charm.
There are trams that run through hand carved stone tunnels, …
… combined with graffiti painted public space.
I hiked up a small hill to the castle. Just to the side of this former seat of power is the relatively newly establish house of parliament.
After walking through the gates of the castle and on to the viewing area, that is when the enormity of the Soviet housing project hit me. It took three consecutive shots to cover the horizon of housing.
Inside, the castle was elegant, with arches, ...
marble floors, ...
white washed walls and gilded trim.
I really enjoyed the repeating Renaissance arch design of the courtyard.
There were two main exhibits on display at the national museum. First was a collection of Slovakian coins. Then came the exhibit of Slovakian furnishings from the noble class. Both were interesting, but the biggest surprise of the tour was hearing Madonna’s, “Like a Virgin” playing on a radio. I had to find it, out of curiosity. The 1980’s may have be twenty years ago for most of us, but this docent was living large.
The one remaining castle event was to climb the tower.
Usually, I have very few height issues but this tower plays on your mind. The open center design, with narrow railed catwalks around the perimeter made the vertigo instinct come to life.
It was worth the effort for the city views.
I even caught a glimpse of the boat to Vienna, making a return trip.
The hilltop neighborhoods of Bratislava appear very nice. The large homes have city lots and gardens. Looking in the real estate office windows, the prices are not all that different to city living in the US. The post communist real estate adjustment must have already taken affect.
Heading down the hill, for the return trip to Vienna, a large group of American seniors piled out of a bus. They were sporting the latest in tour group communications, which equates to individual ear pieces, linked to hand held receivers that pick up the transmitted signal from the guides microphone. Finally, maybe in the future there will be no more screaming guides or portable amplification systems in tourist sites.
The train back to Vienna was shiny and new, reflecting the soon to be new Slovakian “Open Boarder” status with the European Union. The people are very proud of this agreement and view it as a major "step up" in European status.
Our train was delayed near the Austrian border, giving us time to gaze at tons and tons of sugar beets loaded into rows of open freight cars.
For this "city slicker", it was really a site to see.
The weather is changing and getting colder. I know the saying is “Red sky at night, sailors delight” but the outlook is for possible snow flurries tomorrow.
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